Chapter 216 Foster Mother (Second Update)
The clinic's business was slow for only one day, and the number of people increased again the next day. Fortunately, the injured who had been treated here earlier were discharged one after another.
Jiang Shi is still undergoing treatment.
He was the most seriously injured patient in the accident. Just a few days ago, he successfully passed the critical period and is currently in good condition, showing new improvements every day.
His voice is gradually recovering, and he can occasionally utter a few words in a hoarse voice.
Gu Jiao already knew that his name was Jiang Shi, he was from Meng County, he was 21 years old, and his younger sister was Jiang Li, who was 8 years old.
They were from a village that suffered a famine; their parents and family members all starved to death, leaving only him and his sister.
They were bought by a slave trader and resold many times. In fact, either of them would have been easier to sell if they were separated, but Jiang Shi was unwilling to be separated from his sister.
By sheer coincidence, they were sold to the capital, where he worked illegally for the Ministry of Works.
The wages for illegal labor were meager, but by scrimping and saving, it was barely enough to feed my sister.
From Jiang Shi, Gu Jiao also learned that there were many illegal workers like him. Being able to work illegally for the imperial court was already a kind of luck. Some people were not bought by corrupt officials of the court, but were sold to some black-hearted small workshops, which was truly miserable.
These undocumented workers in the capital city had no household registration or travel permits. Although the imperial court covered their medical expenses and compensated them for some of their wages, they all had to leave the capital city once they recovered.
Gu Jiao put Jiang Shi on an IV drip for the day.
Jiang Li wasn't in the ward; she went to help out in the lobby.
The little girl had become familiar with the people at the clinic and understood that they wouldn't hurt her. She gradually lowered her guard and would help out when there were many people around.
She was helping pack medicine kits today. She wasn't very quick, but she did it very meticulously.
As Gu Jiao was observing Xiao Jiangli, Doctor Song suddenly walked over, smiled, and said, "This little girl works very hard. She can even recognize quite a few medicinal herbs now. She's much better than I was back then."
As they were talking, a carriage pulled up outside.
The four accompanying guards all rode tall horses, making it clear that the person inside the carriage was of high status.
Sure enough, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a noble and beautiful young lady stepped out.
Who else could it be but Princess Rui?
Princess Rui met Gu Jiao on the stone arch bridge on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and has not appeared since.
With the help of two female officials, she stepped down from the carriage, waving her hand impatiently: "Alright, stop helping me, it's not like I don't have hands and feet!"
“But you must be careful,” said Lady Xu.
Princess Rui ignored her and stepped into the main hall. Upon seeing Gu Jiao, she smiled happily: "Miss Gu!"
Gu Jiao nodded slightly.
Princess Rui looked around, then stepped forward and took Gu Jiao's hand: "Would it be convenient for us to sit in your courtyard?"
"Okay," Gu Jiao said to Doctor Song, "I'll leave this to you."
"Yes," Doctor Song replied, bowing slightly to Princess Rui.
The patients here are unaware of the other person's identity, but he does.
Princess Rui didn't pay much attention to him and went to the courtyard with Gu Jiao.
The two sat down.
Gu Jiao poured her a cup of tea.
Princess Rui didn't drink it, but said, "I'm sorry I haven't come to see you for so long. I only found out I was pregnant the day I returned from the palace. The maids wouldn't let me go out and kept me locked up for two months!"
The nannies were also following Consort Yu's wishes, and the fetus had to be three months old before it could be announced to the public or allowed to go out.
"Congratulations," Gu Jiao said.
A blush crossed Princess Rui's face: "I have been married to Your Highness for several years, and this is my first child. Could you check my pulse?"
Gu Jiao took her pulse: "The pulse is very stable."
Princess Rui rarely showed such an innocent and carefree smile: "The imperial physician said the same thing, but I don't trust what he says. I only trust what you say!"
Then, remembering something, she added, "Oh right, I haven't had a chance to thank you for what happened last time. If you hadn't told me to prepare in advance, I wouldn't have been able to save those people who fell into the lake."
Gu Jiao said, "I was just telling you. They were saved because you believed me. The credit is yours, no need to thank me."
Princess Rui opened her mouth: "Ah..."
How was she supposed to respond to that?
Gu Jiao calmly asked, "You came here today just to take my pulse and thank me?"
Princess Rui smiled awkwardly: "Actually, there's something else. I'd like to ask you to make a house call. I know I was too abrupt and should have told you sooner, but I only found out about it by chance when I went to the palace to pay my respects to His Majesty and the Empress today. I don't feel comfortable having anyone else do it..."
Gu Jiao is like that; she responds better to gentle persuasion than force.
If Princess Rui had tried to use her power to pressure her, she would have refused long ago. But Princess Rui looked at her with pleading, doe-like eyes, and she sighed and agreed.
"You're the best!" Princess Rui led Gu Jiao into her carriage.
Gu Jiao's patient was a concubine of the current emperor. This concubine did not live in the palace, but in a nunnery near Puji Temple.
We also need to cross that river.
The suspension bridge has been repaired; the only bridge suitable for horse-drawn carriages is the stone arch bridge.
The carriage stopped outside the temple.
The two got off the carriage.
Princess Rui asked the female official to wait outside, and then led Gu Jiao into the nunnery.
The nunnery was small, and there were only a few nuns; they only saw two in total.
"Is the Dowager Consort here?" Princess Rui asked.
"Yes, Your Highness, this way please." A young nun led Princess Rui and Gu Jiao to a meditation room in the backyard.
Suppressed coughing sounds came from inside the meditation room.
Princess Rui's heart tightened, and she lifted her skirt and walked over: "Your Highness! Are you alright?"
At the bedside, an old nanny bowed to Princess Rui: "Princess."
Princess Rui sat down by the bedside and held the withered hand of the coughing man: "How did you become so ill?"
"Cough cough... What are you doing here? I'm fine... It's an old ailment... cough cough..." She coughed violently.
Gu Jiao walked in carrying a small basket on her back.
Her gaze fell on the other person, an elderly woman who practiced Buddhism while still keeping her hair, about the same age as her great-aunt, whose elegant face still faintly revealed her beauty in her youth.
"And this is..." The other person looked at Gu Jiao.
“Your Highness, this is my friend, her surname is Gu, and her medical skills are very impressive! She is here to treat your illness!” Princess Rui said, looking at Gu Jiao, “Miss Gu, this is Consort Jing.”
Gu Jiao nodded.
She doesn't have the habit of bending down or kneeling before people.
Consort Jing was a nun, so she didn't mind. She coughed twice, covered her face, and said to Gu Jiao, "Since you are Qianqian's friend, don't be so reserved. I'm not a consort anymore. You can just call me Abbess Jing'an."
Gu Jiao took the pulse of Consort Jing and examined her body: "Did the nun also have asthma before?"
It was quite a surprise that such a young girl was diagnosed with asthma so quickly, but given her age, she wasn't easily alarmed.
She said, "I've had this problem before, it's an old ailment, and it flares up the most in the spring."
"Can it be cured?" Princess Rui asked Gu Jiao.
"It's hard to cure completely, but it can be controlled." Gu Jiao opened the small medicine box, took out asthma medication and an asthma inhaler, and gave them to Consort Jing, explaining how to use them and some taboos in daily life.
Consort Jing thanked Gu Jiao.
Princess Rui and Consort Jing talked for a while, and Princess Jing left reluctantly when she got sleepy.
After boarding the carriage to return, Princess Rui sighed, "The Dowager Consort is so pitiful, why did she have to do this?"
Consort Jing was the emperor's adoptive mother. The emperor's birth mother came from a humble background and was merely a palace maid, unqualified to raise a prince. The emperor was adopted by Consort Jing at birth.
At that time, Consort Jing was only Consort Jing. A few years later, she gave birth to a little princess and was promoted to Imperial Concubine Jing.
Consort Jing was a gentle and kind woman who never quarreled or caused trouble in the harem.
Perhaps it was precisely because of her unassuming and unambitious nature that Empress Dowager Zhuang favored her, forgoing the appointment of so many princes and instead choosing her adopted son as emperor.
However, she also made sacrifices.
Since the emperor has been adopted into her family, he is her son. When the emperor ascends the throne, she should be made empress dowager.
How could Empress Dowager Ke Zhuang allow a second Empress Dowager to appear in the palace?
This led to the story of Consort Jing missing the late emperor and wishing to remain in Buddhist practice while keeping her hair to chant scriptures for him every day.
"However, there is another saying among the people." Princess Rui did not treat Gu Jiao as an outsider. She did not have any close female friends. Gu Jiao was the first one, and she unilaterally recognized her as such.
She said, "Consort Jing has a sweetheart. She doesn't care about being Empress Dowager and has asked to become a nun."
She had never even said this to her younger sister, Du Xiaoyun.
Of course, the main reason is that Du Xiaoyun is a big mouth, and a brainless one who is biased towards the Crown Princess.
Could it be that the person she loves is—
Okay, I won't say.
(End of this chapter)
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